Under pressure Jose Mourinho last night made a point of praising the manager tipped to temporarily succeed him if the Chelsea axe falls.

Mourinho faces Liverpool this lunchtime with his job on the line after the worst run of results by defending champions in Premier League history.

Former Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers is in the frame in the betting markets to take over as caretaker boss at Stamford Bridge, where he worked as a coach under Mourinho, if, and when, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich runs out of patience with the Portuguese coach.

Mourinho described Liverpool's decision to oust Rodgers for Jurgen Klopp as replacing "a top manager with another top one", and decried the glee that accompanied the downfall of Rodgers that has also surrounded his own struggles.

"What I would like to understand is why some people can be so excited and happy with the perspective of somebody losing his job," Mourinho said. "This is the only job where people get excited at that. It is sad. Brendan almost won the Premier League. He was manager of the season.

"It's strange. I don't belong to this world. I'm too much emotional. I hate people losing jobs."

Mourinho also said he was not concerned about his own position, despite Chelsea's poor form. "I am not worried about that at all," he insisted. "I don't spend one second of my day thinking about it. I'm worried about results, about qualifying for the next round of the Champions League, about recovering positions in the table, and to go back to where Chelsea normally has to be."